Lambert left Phoenix International Raceway the night before the Cup race last Sunday to be with his wife, who was experiencing contractions.

Ernie Cope, a crew chief for RCR in the Nationwide Series, guided Burton and the No. 31 team to a 10th-place finish at Phoenix.

Cope will again be on stand-by for Lambert, who was reunited with Burton this year after spending part of the 2011 season with Burton and part with Elliott Sadler’s Nationwide Series team.

Burton supported his crew chief’s decision to go home last week.

“We’re going to support Luke being at home,” Burton said. “I’ve got some questions from fans about, ‘You must not be committed to racing, you say your crew chief should go be home.’

“Well, yeah, he should be home with his wife. And if anybody questions that, I don’t give a damn. Racing is important but being a father, there are things that are more important.”

Lambert’s wife, Jamie, is not due for another couple of weeks.

“She’s not doing a lot to let the baby cook a little more and hopefully after Bristol (next week), they can induce labor,” Burton said. “Right now, everything has slowed down.

“It was pretty apparent she was going to have a baby and they got it slowed down.”

Burton said he is comfortable with Cope filling in as his crew chief. Lambert was messaging with Cope throughout the race last week and following Burton’s radio chatter through NASCAR’s website.

“Kevin (Harvick) likes Ernie a lot and Kevin is pretty good at judging those guys, and Luke really likes Ernie a lot — he feels like he’s a great person to work with as far as being a teammate and sharing information,” Burton said.

“I was really comfortable. … Ernie did a good job. That is a tough situation to walk in.”